Hundreds of ex-MG Rover workers are unemployed two years after the firm's collapse, a union survey shows.

Some 6,000 workers lost their jobs when MG Rover collapsed and a quarter are still without work, Amicus found.

Of those who are employed, one fifth are only earning the minimum wage in their current job - marking a 50% fall from their previous salaries.

But recently the firm's Chinese owner said production at the Longbridge plant would resume, with ex-MG Rover workers.

'Stark warning'

In response to the Amicus findings, the union's general secretary, Derek Simpson, said the study showed how weak and flexible labour laws can harm the economy.

"This survey is damning evidence that the policy supporting flexibility and weak labour laws is actually working against the national interest," said Mr Simpson.

"Well paid secure jobs can only be protected by stronger employment laws than we currently have in the UK," he added.

Mr Simpson said the fate of the workers was a "stark warning to the rest of Europe".

However, the new owner of MG Rover's Longbridge site, Nanjing Automobile, recently said MG production would restart at the West Midlands plant within months, providing work for many former Rover workers.

After buying the factory site and other Rover assets in 2005 for £53m, the Chinese firm has said it would spend an initial £10m on reviving Longbridge.